US denies building email monitoring database

The US National Security Agency has denied that it is spending a $1.2 billion to build a data centre in the Utah desert to illegally eavesdrop on or monitor the emails of US citizens.

The spooks are not denying building a data centre, or that it might be used to monitor emails, but they insist it will be perfectly legal. The NSA said that there had been many unfounded allegations have been made about the planned activities of the Utah Data Centre. One of the biggest misconceptions about NSA is that we are unlawfully listening in on, or reading emails of, US citizens. This is simply not the case.

The NSA said the project would result in 5,000 to 10,000 new jobs during the construction phase, with 100 to 200 permanent employees to work there once it was completed. The US Army Corps of Engineers is handling the construction of the facility and it will be finished in September.

So it is not clear why the NSA needs this particular database, but American readers can be rest-assured that whatever is done there, will be perfectly legal.